Blockchain Image Chain of Title Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital image management systems lack effective mechanisms for protecting copyright ownership and preventing unauthorized use, particularly in the context of digital image sharing and money laundering through blockchain technology.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses artificial intelligence for image metadata creation, object detection, recognition, and cryptographic hashing, combined with watermarking and blockchain-based transaction processing, to authenticate and track image products, thereby ensuring the chain of title and preventing unauthorized use and money laundering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If digital images are shared and distributed freely, then accessibility and ease of operation improve, but copyright protection and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system embeds cryptographic hashes and watermarks into images during the initial creation or distribution phase, establishing ownership and tracking information before the image enters circulation. This preliminary action ensures that copyright protection is already in place when the image is shared, resolving the contradiction by making protection built-in rather than additive.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces blockchain technology as an intermediary layer that mediates between image sharing and copyright protection. The blockchain ledger acts as a neutral, decentralized authority that records ownership transfers and authentication, enabling free sharing while maintaining reliable copyright tracking through the intermediary blockchain network.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is used for tracking image transfers, then reliability and copyright protection improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex blockchain verification logic into a separate, specialized component that handles only authentication and ownership verification. By isolating the blockchain functionality from the main image processing system, the overall device complexity is reduced while maintaining reliable chain of title verification through the dedicated blockchain module.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the full blockchain network to verify every image, the system creates simplified cryptographic copies (hashes and watermarks) that contain the essential verification information. These copied authentication elements can be verified locally without complex blockchain node operations, reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Measurement precision
If cryptographic hashing and watermarking are applied to all images, then copyright protection and measurement precision improve, but processing time and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies cryptographic hashing and watermarking selectively based on local quality requirements. High-value or sensitive images receive full cryptographic protection with high measurement precision, while lower-risk images use simplified authentication methods. This local differentiation maintains accurate authentication where needed while preserving processing speed for less critical images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a tiered authentication approach where not all images receive the full suite of cryptographic treatments. Essential hashing is applied universally, but additional watermarking and verification layers are applied partially based on image importance, achieving sufficient authentication accuracy without the excessive processing overhead of applying all protection measures to every image.
Data Source
AI summary
In an apparatus and method, a data packet structure for an image product is written to a node of a transaction processing network. The data packet structure includes a cryptographic hash of, altogether, an image from a base work and image metadata including an identification of the base work and provenance of the base work; and a transferor identification and a transferee identification for a transfer of the image product.